Pursue Excellence Through Divine Wisdom and Academic Distinction: All Programs at The American University of Science (AUS)

Institutional Reference Code (IRC): AUS.POL.ACA.CHR.0001

Academic Credit Hours Policy

Sponsor: Office of Academics

Audience: All academic units of The American University of Science (“AUS,” “the University”)

Institutional Reference Code (IRC): AUS.POL.ACA.CHR.0001

Effective Date: September 3, 2025

Next Review Date: August 3, 2026

Last Effective Date: September 3, 2024

Last Review Date: August 3, 2024

Last Effective Version: V1 (Initial)

Supersedes: Prior drafts and departmental memos on credit determination

A. Statement of Purpose

This Policy defines the University’s authoritative method for determining, assigning, and verifying academic credit hours. It binds credit to demonstrable learning outcomes and verified student achievement; secures fidelity to governing regulation and accreditation practice; and ensures transparent, auditable, and equitable credit attribution for every course, calendar, and modality. It is, in essence, a charter of academic integrity: measurable time-on-task, assessed mastery, and level-appropriate rigor.

B. Scope of Applicability

This Policy governs all for-credit offerings at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate levels, delivered on-campus, online/distance, hybrid, off-site, or in intensive/part-of-term formats (including short and weekend courses). It applies to all Faculties, Schools, Centers, and Programs; to faculty and instructional staff; to curriculum, scheduling, and assessment authorities; and to all offices charged with academic oversight and records—notably the Office of Academics and its Department of the Registrar.

C. Definitions and Principles

1) Definitions

• Academic Engagement Time (AET): Scheduled instructional interaction—synchronous or asynchronous—between students and instructors; measured in 50-minute contact hours.

• Academic Preparation Time (APT): Student work outside scheduled interaction (reading, problem sets, labs, projects, study, reflection); measured in 50-minute preparation hours.

• Course Workload (CW): AET + APT; the time-on-task basis for credit assignment.

• Semester Credit (USCH/GSCH): The AUS unit of credit: AUS Undergraduate Semester Credit Hours (USCH) and AUS Graduate Semester Credit Hours (GSCH).

• Instructor: The Instructor of Record and authorized designees (e.g., TAs of Record, guest lecturers, substitutes) who deliver, assess, and verify academic engagement.

• Methods of Delivery: Face-to-face, online/distance, and hybrid modalities.

• Course Types: Lecture (LEC), Seminar (SEM), Discussion (DIS), Design Studio (DES), Laboratory (LAB), Studio (STU), Practicum (PRC); Experiential/Individual Study formats including Field Study (FLD), Independent Study (IND), Internship (INT), Presentation (PRS), Project (PRJ), Research (RSC), Clinical (CLN); Graduate Thesis/Dissertation (GTD).

• Zero-Credit Course: A transcriptable learning experience that confers no credit.

• Course Level/Numbering: Undergraduate 10000–49999; Graduate/Post-Baccalaureate 50000+. Cross-level enrollment requires instructor/departmental approval.

Regulatory Grounding. AUS adopts the federal credit-hour definition as an institutionally established equivalency—tied to intended learning outcomes and verified achievement—that reasonably approximates, per semester credit, one 50-minute contact hour plus two 50-minute preparation hours per instructional week, or an equivalent amount of work over a different period; the same equivalency governs laboratories, internships, studios, and other academic work.

2) Principles

1. Evidence-Based Equivalency. Credits are anchored in intended learning outcomes and documented student achievement.

2. The 1:2 Convention. Unless a course-type rule states otherwise, each semester credit embodies one 50-minute contact hour plus two 50-minute preparation hours per instructional week—or an equivalent total in non-standard calendars.

3. Modality Neutrality. Distance/online offerings must yield the same combined AET+APT as face-to-face offerings and must document regular and substantive faculty interaction.

4. Integrity of Leveling. Assigned credit must align with the academic level (undergraduate/graduate) in content, workload, and assessment.

5. Syllabus Transparency. Every syllabus discloses expected AET/APT, key assessments, and modality-specific engagement.

D. Procedural Guidelines

1) General Procedures

• Proposal & Review. New or revised courses are evaluated by Faculty Course Review Committees (FCRCs) within each Faculty, against this Policy and Registrar-maintained implementing guidelines; inter-Faculty or non-Faculty offerings are reviewed by the Faculty Senate.

• Scheduling Verification. Prior to term start, the Department of the Registrar (within the Office of Academics) audits scheduled instructional time, modality documentation, and assigned credits; discrepancies are corrected before the first day of instruction.

• Syllabus Compliance. Syllabi must specify AET/APT distributions, assessment architecture, and—where applicable—distance-education interaction plans.

2) Procedures for Special Circumstances

• Non-Standard Calendars / Intensives. Credits are set by equivalency (same total work over a different amount of time) with unchanged learning outcomes and assessment integrity.

• Emergency Disruptions. When permitted by law/regulation, temporary equivalency statements may be authorized by the Provost; all deviations are time-bounded, documented, and archived by the Department of the Registrar.

• Zero-Credit Activities. May be transcripted per approved rules; no credit is conferred.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

• Provost (Responsible Official). Final authority for policy compliance; may delegate determinations to the Faculty Senate and Faculties.

• Office of Academics—including the Department of the Registrar (policy custodian and records authority): Maintains implementing guidance and training; validates schedules and catalog entries; conducts sampling audits; initiates amendments.

• Faculty Senate. Oversees cross-unit offerings; constitutes University-level review bodies as needed.

• Faculties and Programs. Operate FCRCs for course-level determinations; conduct periodic audits for continuous alignment.

F. Implementation Measures

1) Deployment Strategy

• Effective Date: As above.

• Milestones: Policy briefings; syllabus attestations; schedule audits; post-term compliance review.

2) Resource Allocation

• Technology: Scheduling and LMS analytics dashboards calibrated to AET/APT metrics; archival systems for audit evidence.

• Training: Mandatory workshops for instructors, schedulers, and FCRC members on equivalency, assessment integrity, and distance-education interaction.

G. Enforcement and Compliance

Monitoring Mechanisms

• Pre-Term Verification: Department of the Registrar + Office of Academics audit class time vs. credit and interaction plans.

• Sampling Audits: Mid-term and annual reviews of syllabi, LMS evidence, and assessment artifacts.

• Distance-Education Checks: Documentation of regular and substantive interaction retained per recordkeeping standards.

Sanctions for Non-Compliance

• Required corrective actions; removal from schedule/catalog; suspension of approvals; performance remediation; and, where warranted, formal disciplinary procedures under institutional regulations.

H. Review and Amendment

1) Scheduled Review

Annual review each summer prior to Fall scheduling; next review due August 3, 2026.

2) Amendment Process

Office of Academics (via the Department of the Registrar) drafts amendments; Faculty Senate reviews; Provost approves; Board of Governors is notified. Updated versions are logged under the IRN.

I. Associated Documents and Legal References

• Internal: Curriculum Proposal Procedures; Distance and Online Education Standards; Syllabus Policy; Academic Records and Scheduling Manual.

• External (incorporated by reference): Federal credit-hour definition and equivalency requirements; sectoral frameworks for instructional-minute equivalencies and distance-education interaction used for compliance verification.

J. Appendices and Additional Resources

Appendix A — Credit-Hour Equivalency Tables (AUS Standard)

Classroom-Based Instruction (minutes per credit over the term):

• Lecture (LEC), Seminar (SEM), Discussion (DIS), Design Studio (DES): 750

• Laboratory (LAB): 1,500 (with substantial outside preparation) or 2,250 (with little/no outside preparation)

• Studio (STU), Practicum (PRC): 1,500

Experiential / Individual Study (outside classroom; 60-minute hour):

• Field Study (FLD), Independent Study (IND), Internship (INT), Presentation (PRS), Project (PRJ), Research (RSC), Clinical (CLN): 2,400 minutes per credit (≈ 40 hours on task)

Graduate Thesis/Dissertation (GTD): 0–12 credits per term by approved plan of study; default expectation of full-time engagement unless expressly exempted.

Distance/Online Requirements: For every credit, instructors must demonstrate modality-appropriate learning activities and regular and substantive faculty interactions (e.g., direct instruction, assessed feedback, faculty-moderated discourse, scheduled consultations) commensurate with assigned credit.

GOVERNANCE, GUARDIANSHIP, AND PERPETUAL ALIGNMENT

The governance of AUS, entrusted to its Board of Governors, constitutes a sacred guardianship of the University’s mission, vision, and institutional integrity. This stewardship transcends administrative obligation; it is a solemn vocation of moral leadership, doctrinal fidelity, and eternal accountability.

Each section of this codified text—whether doctrinal, academic, ethical, or structural—is subject to continuous review and conscientious reaffirmation. This process ensures that the living identity of AUS remains harmonized with its divine mandate and responsive to the evolving exigencies of global higher education. The Board conducts annual reviews of all foundational texts, policies, and institutional declarations, ensuring their alignment with the transcendent principles upon which the University was founded.

As of this publication, the schedule of reviews and ratifications is as follows:

• First Review: August 3, 2021

• First Publication: September 3, 2021

• Second Review: August 3, 2022

• Second Ratification: September 3, 2022

• Third Review: August 3, 2023

• Third Ratification: September 3, 2023

• Fourth Review: August 3, 2024

• Fourth Ratification: September 3, 2024

• Fifth Review: August 3, 2025

• Fifth Ratification: September 3, 2025

• (and perpetually henceforth, on an annual basis)

This living governance process does not merely preserve institutional integrity; it embodies the University’s irrevocable vow to uphold the highest standards of transparency, moral clarity, doctrinal fidelity, and visionary continuity. It affirms that AUS is not merely an academic institution, but a consecrated covenant—binding wisdom to governance, mission to accountability, and leadership to eternal truth.

Appendix A — Credit-Hour Equivalency Tables (AUS Standard)

Applicability: Undergraduate Semester Credit Hours (USCH) and Graduate Semester Credit Hours (GSCH)

Authority: Office of Academics (inclusive of the Department of the Registrar); implemented by Faculty Course Review Committees (FCRCs)

A. Canon and Purpose

This Appendix is the University’s metronome of rigor. It codifies the quantitative grammar by which AUS assigns, verifies, and audits academic credit across every course type and calendar. The calculus is modality-neutral (face-to-face, hybrid, or distance/online), level-appropriate (USCH/GSCH), and calendar-invariant: the minutes per credit never change, only their weekly distribution across the official terms.

AUS’s standard course carries 5.0 credits. The academic year anchors to:

• Standard Semester: 18 weeks (three contiguous 6-week sub-terms)

• Summer Session: 12 weeks (two contiguous 6-week sub-sessions)

B. Baseline Equivalency and Units

• Contact hour (Academic Engagement Time, AET): 50 minutes

• Preparation hour (Academic Preparation Time, APT): 50 minutes

• Experiential/Individual Study hour: 60 minutes (field, clinical, internship, project, research, presentation series)

Per-credit baseline (lecture-type equivalency):

• AET: 750 minutes / credit

• APT: 1,500 minutes / credit

• Total time-on-task: 2,250 minutes / credit

Standard AUS 5-credit course (USCH/GSCH):

• AET: 3,750 minutes

• APT: 7,500 minutes

• Total: 11,250 minutes

C. Classroom-Based Instruction (per credit and per 5-credit course)

C.1 Minutes per Credit (USCH/GSCH)

C.2 Minutes per 5-Credit Course (USCH/GSCH)

D. Experiential & Individual Study (outside classroom; 60-minute hour)

D.1 Minutes per Credit

D.2 Minutes per 5-Credit Course

E. Weekly Distributions (same totals, different cadences)

E.1 LEC/SEM/DIS/DES — per 1 credit

E.2 LEC/SEM/DIS/DES — per 5 credits

Meeting-pattern exemplars (choose any that meet/exceed AET):

• 18-week, 5-credit LEC: 3 × 70 min (= 210) or 2 × 105 min (= 210) per week

• 12-week, 5-credit LEC: 2 × 160 min (= 320) or 3 × 105 min (= 315) per week

• 6-week intensive, 5-credit LEC: 3 × 210 min (= 630) or 5 × 125 min (= 625) per week

F. Distance/Online Equivalency (USCH/GSCH)

Modality changes no totals. Courses offered online must document regular and substantive faculty interaction commensurate with assigned credit, evidenced by any combination of:

• Synchronous faculty-led sessions (seminars, problem studios, critiques)

• Asynchronous faculty-produced micro-lectures with required, time-stamped engagement

• Faculty-facilitated discourse with rubric-assessed participation and feedback cycles

• Structured consultations and graded feedback loops tied to outcomes and minutes

Accounting principle: Activities counted as AET are faculty-initiated, faculty-evaluated, or faculty-facilitated and time-bounded. APT captures independent reading, study, practice, and production.

G. Syllabus & Scheduling Compliance (operational checklist)

Every credit-bearing section must, on its syllabus and schedule, show:

1. Credit declaration (USCH/GSCH; 5.0 by default) and course type (LEC/LAB/STU/PRC/Experiential).

2. Minute map (AET/APT per week × weeks; totals per course).

3. Calendar placement (18-week / 12-week / 6-week) with meeting pattern or online cadence.

4. Distance/Online evidence (if applicable): plan for regular & substantive interaction.

5. Assessment architecture aligned to learning outcomes and workload.

6. Graduate justification (GSCH): outcomes/artifacts demonstrating graduate-level rigor.

H. Authority, Audit, and Amendment

• Department of the Registrar: Validates schedules and minute maps before the term begins; monitors LMS evidence for distance/online parity.

• FCRCs: Apply these tables in new/revised course approvals and modality changes.

• Office of Academics: Maintains this Appendix; amendments proceed through the Policy’s Review & Amendment article.

I. Compact Formulae (for rapid verification)

• Per credit (LEC-type): AET 750 + APT 1,500 = 2,250 minutes

• Per 5-credit LEC: AET 3,750 + APT 7,500 = 11,250 minutes

• LAB (substantial prep), per credit: 1,500 + 750 = 2,250; per 5-credit = 7,500 + 3,750

• LAB (little/no prep), per credit: 2,250 + 0 = 2,250; per 5-credit = 11,250 + 0

• STU/PRC, per credit: 1,500 + 750 = 2,250; per 5-credit = 7,500 + 3,750

• Experiential, per credit: 2,400 supervised; per 5-credit = 12,000 supervised

Invariant: Credit is awarded on total verified work. Calendar compression never reduces the minutes required per credit.